An audacious bid to change the face of Wisbech – with 10,000 extra homes, a retirement village, enterprise zone, new schools and delivery of a rail link- are unveiled today.

Behind the scenes negotiations – that have included a visit to the town by a top Government adviser- could lead to the setting up of the Wisbech Development Corporation to deliver the project.

Subject to detailed negotiations and ministers agreeing up to £800,000 to fund the corporation, building work could start as early as 2019.

A briefing note sent to Fenland’s 39 councillors says the report follows on from devolution discussions taking place between representatives from across Cambridgeshire/Peterborough and Government.

Blue shows where the current Local Plan shows new housing; red indicates where the extra 10,000 homes will come from

Last week a Fenland Council delegation – headed by council leader John Clark and chief executive Paul Medd -attended a devolution event” to further understand what opportunities might exist through devolution.”

The briefing note says that “Fenland is playing a lead role in helping to develop the document that sets out the additional powers and funding, which the area hopes to agree with Government following future negotiations.”

Councillors will be invited to hear more “of what is being pursued, and what this might mean for Fenland.

“The main purpose of this briefing note and attachment is to draw your attention to an idea of a potential ‘Garden Town for Wisbech’.

“It must be stressed that this is still at a very early stage, with much more work required to further test the case, and potential support from Government as part of our devolution discussions, for such a bold proposal.

The proposal makes clear that in order to deliver such ambitious new housing numbers, as part of the Government’s commitment to housing we would require their full support for a range of essential infrastructure improvements i.e the rail link.”

However it emerged that a mix of partners – including Fenland District Council, Cambridgeshire County Council, the Greater Peterborough Local Enterprise Partnership and Anglian Water- has commissioned a viability study.

That work will be carried out by urban designer David Rudlin who in 2014 won the Wolfson Economics Prize for his work on re-invigorating communities across the country.

Steve Barclay, the MP for NE Cambs, accepts the creation of an hugely enlarged project dwarves both the scale and ambition of the Wisbech 2020 Vision which he co founded four years ago.

And he is delighted with the clamour by private enterprise to get involved in expanding Wisbech.

“The Government wants to see things shaped by business- regeneration must come from working with business too,” he said.

Mr Barclay said it had always been a “driving passion” of his to deliver better outcomes for people in NE Cambs and he felt “real progress is being made”.

He agreed housing was central to the project but it was vital sustainable and quality homes were built and to high standards to attract buyers.

Councillor Virginia Bucknor, who represents the Waterlees ward of Wisbech, said she was “very excited at these proposals”.

She said: “.Of course we need the infrastructure to go hand in hand with the homes – roads, schools, railway, health centres.

“We are extremely fortunate to have one of the world’s leading urban designers, David Rudlin and his specialist team at the heart of making it a success.

“We need to ensure their recommendations are not watered down by bureaucracy or developers.”

Cllr Bucknor added; “This could be a new era for Wisbech. It also needs the focus and genuine commitment and drive by the decision makers to ensure it happens and we need our local councillors to genuinely support and help drive it forward”.

Fenland District Council describes what is proposed for Wisbech is ‘a game changer’ that fits with the Government agenda of delivering new homes on a scale way and beyond that earmarked in Local Plans.

The council believes the Government’s commitment to provide “nationally significant infrastructure projects” to support new housing on the scale envisaged could lead to a commitment to re-open the Wisbech to March rail line.

And they also believe it could speed up dualling of the A47 from Thorney to Peterborough, both transport schemes opening up Wisbech and Fenland to a new breed of commuters.

With house prices in Cambridge three times those of Wisbech, the council is confident of attracting quality housing and skilled workers once transport links are improved.

The council says Fenland’s deprivation levels “are getting worse – we are now ranked the 80th most deprived local authority out of 326” where 1 is the most deprived; in 2004 the district was ranked 142nd.

“Our proposal is a new Garden Town for Wisbech, delivering 8,000-10,000 new homes,” says the report.

These would mainly be “market sale” homes for people who have been priced out of living in and around Cambridge but the council promises opportunities for local residents to take advantage of a housing boom/.

To capture local interest, the council proposes incentives for those wanting starter homes and those wanting to self build but the council insists there would be no traditional affordable rented homes.

The report insists Wisbech has the skills to work with the Cambridge Regional College and the College of West Anglia to tailor a work force ready to deliver its ‘garden town’ vision.

It also believes building a retirement village will attract those from London and the south able to release equity in their properties to enjoy country living, in more spacious surroundings and within easy access of the Norfolk coast.

Also central to the proposals is a local enterprise zone, including manufacturing start up businesses from ideas originating on the Cambridge Science Park with factories for building offsite construction homes.

Cambridgeshire County Council is also backing the proposals and looking for a massive windfall from using vast tracts of land it already owns in Wisbech for new housing.

The report says: “Our proposals could be used as model across the country for market town growth.”

WISBECH DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

Its prime requirement would be to co-ordinate planning issues to include bringing together land owners including not only the county council and private companies and individuals but also a “significant” amount owned by the Church Commissioners.

The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) would seek special powers from the Secretary of State to ensure delivery of the overall scheme “and deal with planning approval for the Wisbech Garden Town”.

A governance body could be created locally made up of the HCA, businesses and seats for local members.

A limited liability partnership would be created “to ensure the speed of delivery is achieved,” says the council report.

4: Better links on the east west corridor would have a wider economic advantage.

5; Major retailers would be attracted to the town

6: Local jobs for local people through construction skills training

7: Significant investment would come to the area

8: The Government would bolster tax receipts through business rates and the council would benefit from the New Homes Bonus

9: It would become a model for other towns to follow

10: House prices locally would increase but these would “stabilise Cambridge basin prices, which have reached the same levels as central London”.

EARLY DAYS

The HCA described the initial proposals as “sound and well thought out”, a view shared by the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP). Its chief executive Neil Darwin has given it an “in principle” nod subject to board approval.

The county council also says it is working on boosting transport links to Wisbech and Jackie Sadek, special adviser to Greg Clark, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, has been to Wisbech.

Fenland Council says “she supports our approach”.

CONDITIONS

Fenland Council says its commitment to growth in Wisbech is conditional on Government investment, notably rail and road infrastructure.

Central is the re-opening of the rail link to March and onwards to Ely and Cambridge, creating a travel time into the city of 45 minutes.

The estimated £111million cost has been endlessly debated in recent years with viability assessments and Government funding allowing the scheme to be progressed through a series of appraisals.

Fenland Council also believes postponed rail improvements at Ely need to be carried out as soon as possible to offer certainty of possible commuting times.

And there is also the not so little matter of finding an estimated £430 million to improvement connectivity to Peterborough by upgrading the A47 to Thorney, to the north east of Wisbech.

The council also wants £6 million funding for a college to develop “smart life modern methods of construction”.

Once a limited liability partnership is put in motion, a central Government funded development corporation with a team of six staff will be in place to deliver the scheme.

2020 VISION

Wisbech 2020 Vision

Set up in 2012 and launched in January 2013, it offered a 29 point ‘action plan’ to begin the regeneration of the town.

Successes include

• A further £6million investment for the College of West Anglia with new facilities that opened last September

• Wisbech Market Town Transport Strategy developed and adopted by Cambs County Council

• Successful first-round bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund for £2million to improve the High Street.

Cambridgeshire County Council have published the GRIP 2 study for the reopening of the railway from March to Wisbech.

For a preferred option of two trains an hour from Wisbech to Cambridge, the Outline Business Case and GRIP2 documents show a Benefit to Cost Ratio (BCR) of 2.27 to 1, representing high value for money. When wider economic benefits are taken into account, the BCR could rise to around 4.41.

“Current investigations into the case for reopening the railway between March and Wisbech commenced in 2012.

Following on from the initial work (detailed below), on 29 July 2015, we published an Outline Business Case and a GRIP 2 feasibility study. These documents demonstrate a positive case for investment at this stage of scheme development.

For a preferred option of two trains an hour from Wisbech to Cambridge, the Outline Business Case and GRIP2 documents show a Benefit to Cost Ratio (BCR) of 2.27 to 1, representing high value for money. When wider economic benefits are taken into account, the BCR could rise to around 4.41.

However, without additional work in the Ely area, it is unlikely that this service pattern could be achieved. A fallback option of one train an hour to Cambridge and one train an hour to March would be possible without further work at Ely. This option has a BCR of 1.37 to 1 (representing low value for money), rising to 3.37 to 1 when wider economic benefits are taken into account.

The figures quoted above assume a Town Centre Station; they increase slightly for a station south of the A47 due to the reduction in costs due to the removal of the cost of providing a bridge for the A47 over the railway. However, a town centre station would provide a greater level of wider economic benefits for Wisbech.

Governance for Railway Investment Projects (GRIP) is Network Rail’s management and control process for delivering projects on the railway, and has eight stages. The GRIP 2 Feasibility stage has now been completed for the March to Wisbech reopening.

The GRIP 2 study looks at potential scheme costs in some detail. Including risk and optimism bias (a factor allowing for an inherent tendency for scheme costs to be underestimated at early stages of development), the cost of reopening the line between March and Wisbech is estimated to range between £70m and £111m. The costings from the GRIP 2 study informed the Outline Business Case.

The next stage of the project is for a GRIP 3 Option Selection study and a Full Business Case for the scheme to be developed. This work is currently planned to commence in the autumn of 2015.”

Reopening of the railway line between Wisbech and Cambridge is a key part of the plans for Wisbech to 2020 and beyond as described in a newly published document “Wisbech: beyond 2020…a place of great expectations”.

“The overall proposed project of reopening of the current mothballed railway line between Wisbech and March to allow direct access to Cambridge, and onto Peterborough, Stansted Airport and London would make a significant contribution to the local economy of Wisbech and the surrounding areas. Furthermore, significant value is placed by residents on having access to both social and economic opportunities through the proposed rail service. Depending on the most suitable station location the benefit-cost ratio is looking favourable.”

The coalition of businesses in the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership area have responded to Network Rail’s Long-term planning process consultation to stress the importance of reopening the Wisbech to March railway. The response outlines the Strategic case, economic case and commercial case and can be downloaded here Anglia Route Study Consultation Response 030215

The Wisbech Rail Reopening petition will be presented to Cambridgeshire County Council on Tuesday 16th July. There will be a photo opportunity for supporters at the entrance to Shire Hall at 10am. Please come and join us.

3784 people signed the petition in total. There are 2907 signatures from Cambridgeshire calling for the re-opening of the railway line to Wisbech with a direct service to Cambridge. Part of Wisbech is in Norfolk and there are another 493 signatures from there, with a further 384 signatures from friends and family in the rest of the country. 94% of the signatures from Cambridgeshire live in Fenland District, mainly from Wisbech but including strong support from March, Manea and other local villages.

The Wisbech Rail Reopening Campaign wisbechrail.org.uk is pleased to announce that Cambridgeshire County Council has accepted that this petition
can be presented to the full County Council (meeting at 10.30am) at 10.15am Tuesday July 16th 2013.

The petition is in support of Cambridgeshire County Council continuing development of the business case for reopening the 7 miles of railway from Wisbech to March to reconnect Wisbech to the national rail network and calls for the provision of an initial hourly Wisbech to Cambridge service. The petition campaign has created enormous interest in Wisbech and district. 3784 people signed it of whom 2907 live in Cambridgeshire. Most of the rest live cross – border adjacent to Wisbech in Norfolk and Lincolnshire with some being friends and relatives of Wisbech residents who live elsewhere in the UK.

Please also note that we delivered over 11000 leaflets to most households in built up area of Wisbech, on both sides of “the border” plus 800 in Manea and 1200 in March. The response rate in Wisbech was 25% per household, which we consider to be very positive. The number of households indicates to us that the true cross border population of Wisbech is around 33,000.

Additionally, on behalf of the petitioners in Fenland who have signed the petition, we have asked that the Fenland Members of Parliament in Cambridgeshire and Norfolk work together to make the case with appropriate Transport Minister to make sure the Wisbech reconnection to the nation rail network is put into the next Greater Anglia franchise as a commitment.

Ends.

Note to editors.
The railway line from Wisbech to March exists intact and its legal status is “not closed but mothballed”. The track and all land and legal ownership of it, is held by Network Rail on behalf of the nation.
A report issued in 2010 by the Association of Train Operating Companies and called “Connecting Communities”, found that reconnecting the Wisbech to March railway to the national network would be cost effective.
Cambridgeshire County Council is currently conducting a feasibility study with a view to establishing a business case for reopening the route. Stage 1 established that a large number of people would use a new Wisbech station.
More information can be found on our website, wisbechrail.org.uk
A copy of the petition document with an analysis of the results, maps and
copies of the leaflets (but with the petitioners’ names redacted) is
available here wisbechrail.org.uk/2013/07/08/petition-closes/
All information on it may be used without asking for permission.

The petition has now been passed to Cambridgeshire County Council with 3784 supporters. Many thanks for the huge level support for reopening the railway from March to Wisbech to provide a service of through trains from Wisbech to Cambridge. We plan to formally present the petition to Cambridgeshire County Council on Tuesday 16th July 2013. You can still sign the form here http://wisbechrail.org.uk/petition/ to show your support for the reopening and request updates on the campaign by email.

You can download a copy of the petition document (with the names removed) by clicking on this link (PDF download). This includes information about the number of supporters in each electoral ward in the Wisbech area.

Reopening the 7 miles of railway line between Wisbech and March will create an economic stimulus to the area to help encourage new development and improve transport links between Wisbech and surrounding towns and cities.

Wisbech and surrounding area is relatively impoverished. Unemployment is high compared with the south of Cambridgeshire. Services such as health and education, have below average outcomes. The perception is that the town has visibly stagnated both socially and economically since the railway closed in 1968. The town and surrounding area have a population of around 31,000, one of the largest in the country without local access to a railway station.

Why build a new rail link?

The number of passengers travelling by train has been growing for many years; improved train services, concern over rising fuel prices and road traffic congestion have contributed to this. In some parts of the country former railway lines have been re-opened and have been a great success, both in terms of the numbers using the new services but also in the economic stimulus they have provided to the local area. Some examples are given below:

Town

Population

New track to re-open route

Date of re-opening

Number of passengers in 2011

Ebbw Vale

18,500

18 miles

Feb 2008

247,000

Alloa

19,000

7 miles

May 2008

394,000

Corby

61,000

5.5 miles

Feb 2009

176,700

Although using the old railway as a heritage route has been suggested, a proper railway as part of the national network will bring far wider benefits in terms of jobs and access to the region.

Could Wisbech be next?

Rail passenger services to Wisbech ended in 1968. The line continued to be used for freight services until the 1990s. The majority of the track is still in place, although it would need to be replaced to allow new trains to run. Existing level crossings would need to upgraded to modern standards. As it is highly desirable to have a new station as close to the town centre as possible a method of crossing the A47 would have to be developed.

A direct train service to Cambridge is proposed with a journey time of around 40 minutes, much faster than a car journey or existing bus service. Trains would call at March, Ely and the new station at the Cambridge Science Park. Such a service would improve access to jobs and education and help connect Fenland with the rest of Cambridgeshire. Passengers would be able to connect with other train services to London, other centres in East Anglia, the Midlands and the North West.

What is happening now?

Wisbech Town Council support the rail re-opening . Cambridgeshire County Council are carrying out feasibility studies into the rail scheme. The first part of the study, looking at operating costs and likely usage will report early in 2013. A second item of work will look at the costs of re-opening including the location of the new station in Wisbech and how to cross the A47. This will report later in 2013.

If there is a good business case, it is possible that the rail reopening could be included within the one of the new rail franchises serving the area when this is let in a few years time.